The wristband.

I saw a familiar face today. One of the girls who put together the short video about me was passing through town. She wanted to say hi and introduce me to her parents. The entire family helped me finish my shopping, walked me to the bus stop and then took turns positing for pictures with me like I was some kind of celebrity. Their daughter told them a lot about me. But then- Cerebral Palsy was no stranger to them. Her sister with a more severe form of my condition passed away a few months ago. To honor her memory they've put together a nonprofit and seemed very excited to get started. It reminded me of James Klausner and his determination to do the same for his son. A nonprofit is not easy run and I hope that they have enough energy and motivation to keep it going. I've seen many fizzled out. If they were in Florida, I'd gladly get involved with them in some capacity. But they are in Georgia. Things seem to be going very well for them so far. Apparently, so many people pledged to donate to the cause that they qualified for the expedited processing of their 501(c)3 (tax exempt status) application and were awarded it in a month. I've been told that 80% of requests for a faster route get denied. I wish things were going that well for my Foundation! They asked me if I was interested in doing something with them if somebody drove me to Georgia and I cut them off by saying yes.  I'm always interested. It seems like a worthy cause and they are good people. And hey, I've never been to Georgia. As we parted ways and I was waiting for a bus with a grocery-loaded bag hanging from the back of my chair she gave me a purple wristband. She wanted to give to me for a long time, but between single lines exchanged on Facebook from time to time it never happened. She no longer lives in the city and when she does pop in and out I don't ever get enough advanced notice to plan anything. But she really wanted to give me that wristband and I really wanted to have it. We've met up if only for few minutes between me getting a few boxes of Special K Meal Bars and mushrooms in the produce. As I've put it on my weaker hand, we turned it inside out to reveal the engraving. It said Toya Tuff. I've never met her sister, but I'm proud to have it.